Snaphaunce pistol - Origin not clear

[FenrisWolf]

Originally Posted by fernando

Hi Fenris,
Thank you for your coments.
I can see your point.
Here are some more pictures of the barrel and other details.
You will notice the dark stains in the wood, around the screws and near the barrel. Would this mean this stock has seen some use, even having been a replacement to the original one ?
kind regards
fernando

Those darkened holes around the bolt heads bring up an entirely different possibility. Given the reasonably good fit of the inletting around the barrel and tang (as revealed in the new pictures), it's probably the lock that is the replacement, not the stock. Those large holes are evidence that originally there were bolts with much larger heads inletted into the stock. The snaphance locks changed very little over their lifespan, so it's not surprising that a gunsmith was able to replace an earlier one with a new lock. Snaphance locks, while a significant improvement over the much more fragile wheellock mechanisms, are still needlessly complex, with something like three times as many moving parts as a true flintlock. Given the number of weapons being converted from snaphance to flintlock, the gunsmith might easily have had a spare lock lying around, making it cheaper to replace the old lock than to repair it. Given the evidence of the bolt head inlets along with the rough fit of the inletting around the lock, that would be my guess.